ORIGINAL: Dean Bird
.... But I currently view you as another person trying to identify problems in a segment of the hobby that you don't participate in. I flew in 8 of the 9 largest contests held in the Southwest this year. I didn't see any problem with the Basic class. The classes were large, the pilots were good, and usually did a better job of being in the air and ready to be judged than the Unlimited guys. The class was won by the pilot with the most skills.
Looking for ways to improve is always a good thing. That's been the motivation for sequence committees, national Unknowns, judges training, etc. Things just continue to improve in this segment of the hobby. We're having more contests, with more pilots, that are run better, that have trained judges, and have great sponsor support. Talk about improvements!!!
If those non-participants would like to help increase particpation, stop trying to highlight what you think are the problems with a segment of the hobby you don't participate in. If I were to listen to Dick, I would never have started flying scale aerobatics. I was told I had to be intimidated if I wasn't flying a 40% airplane, and even if I had one I was going to get beat by a sandbagger that the rules hadn't taken care of. The guys that are participating have continued to let those considering trying scale aerobatics that all of that is BS.
Two groups of people - those that participate, and those that don't. It would make sense that the ones that are actively participating don't see as much of a problem as those that don't participate. Think about it. I don't think it is prudent to rule out someones opinion because they don't participate, especially if you want to get new blood in the sport, they are your target audience!!!
Of those that don't participate, you could break that down into two groups - those that have never participated, and those that have but left for whatever reason. These are two different viewpoints that should be explored. If each of these segments have common reasons for why they don't participate, then you should pay attention, IMHO.
It has been my experience that of those that have never flown competition, they will almost always have some reason, such as "too expensive" or "too elitest" etc. In most cases, they just are not interested, but feel compelled to give a reason other than "I'm just happy to bore holes in the sky". Nothing wrong with that.
For those that have flown competition, but gave it up, find out why. There is always going to be attrition, many times it has nothing to do with the sport. But, if you look back to pattern, a lot of guys said they dropped out because they did not like the change to turnaround. I think in some cases a lot of them dropped out because they were ready to take a break anyway, and turnaround was a reason. But, it seemed that turnaround did not kill pattern. Some of the biggest contests that I can remember were a couple of years after the change. Lots of new blood.
JMHO.
Bob R.